His Lover, My Mate

Five: Thirst

*Rush*

For all the centuries he'd been alive, Rush never had been in a hurry to find his mate. In all honesty, he didn't really want one. He had searched for his mate, yes, but it was always with dread, with the hanging burden of possibly finding her dead or gone before he'd even met her. Then there was the aspect of becoming vulnerable to her. That was impossible.

Years of war and battle made him cold. His enemies made him ruthless. Once, his heart had been warm, tender, wanting to beat for a female. It had. But she hadn't belonged to him. She belonged to another male, another Alpha.

He could still see her dark hair and blue eyes. She'd been a fragile, broken thing years ago. She'd been so broken that she was killed, murdered, ripped away from this world that gave her no solace.

Rush had loved her. He'd loved her with his soul. At the time, he'd believed she was destined for him, that if she hadn't been mated to the Death Alpha, then maybe she would have been his. Maybe he could have loved her and fixed her back up. Maybe he could have made her his Luna.

His dreams were shattered. His love was gone. His heart had turned cold, brittle, unsympathetic. He could no longer love anymore. He couldn't even dream anymore.

Just like Rush had once been, Aletha was still in a dream. She thought this world would accept it if she remained with a male who wasn't her mate. But nature had proved to be far too reckless, far too evil and dark. If Rush hadn't taken her from Lucien, well, she would have perished eventually.

He couldn't let her just perish. Even though he may never love her, he wanted her alive. He wanted his pack alive too.

She wouldn't understand his intentions. She would hate him for it. She would blame him for shattering her dreams and taking away the love of her life from her. And Rush hated himself for it. She deserved love. She deserved so many things, because he knew she was good. She was better than what he could ever be, but she would learn that he had done it for her own good, for everyone's good. He had done it so fate wouldn't be pissed, so that nature could take its course.

He had once pissed off nature. Why? Because he was born. And nature hadn't been kind to him either. Even the Moon Goddess hated him. He had been fated to many females...but she took them all away. The Goddess never gave him what he would need to hold his pack together—a future. Every single decade, there would be a new mate. He could feel it in the shift in his soul...she had been out there somewhere...and then she was gone. His soul didn't recognize a mate anymore. Because every time nature gave him a mate, the Goddess took her away.

That was why nature hated him, because he could never have what he needed. And as to why the Goddess hated him, well, his father had been her lover and he left her when he turned destructive and evil. The Moon Goddess believed Rush was the same as his father, and she condemned him for his birthright by killing his mates before he could ever meet them.

But Aletha was different. The Goddess had made a promise to a friend...a promise to give him a mate. So Aletha would be the mate who wouldn't die. She was the one meant for Rush.

Yet she hated him. She was so blinded by her love for Lucien that she didn't see past his lies. Rush knew Lucien since they were mere boys. He knew Lucien for centuries. He was a calculating motherfucker. He wanted to prove his worth. He wanted to be the stronger one. He wanted to be the best Alpha in the Darklands. He knew he could never compete with the Alpha of the Death Pack, so he tried competing with Rush instead. Bad mistake. Rush figured him all out the minute their battle started. Lucien was incapable of compassion and love. He couldn't have loved Aletha for however long he did. It just didn't make any sense.